Installation

Install Proton Drive for Linux from your distribution's package, sign in, and keep it up to date. This page also covers building from source, running without a desktop, and removing the client again.

• Install a package
• Optional extras
• First run
• Updating
• Uninstalling
• Headless and server use
• Build from source
• What the packages install

Install a package

Distribution	Package	Updates
Fedora 44 or newer	COPR repository narl-rs/proton-drive-linux	With dnf upgrade
Arch Linux	proton-drive-for-linux in the AUR	With your AUR helper
Debian, Ubuntu 24.04 or newer	.deb from the release page	Download each release
NixOS	The flake in this repository	With nix flake update
Anything else	.tar.gz from the release page, or build from source	By hand

Release packages are for x86_64. You also need a Secret Service provider, such as GNOME Keyring, KWallet or KeePassXC, to keep your session. Most desktops have one already.

Fedora (44 or newer)

Enable the COPR repository and install the package:

sudo dnf copr enable narl-rs/proton-drive-linux
sudo dnf install proton-drive-linux

COPR builds every release for Fedora 44, 45 and Rawhide, so sudo dnf upgrade keeps the client up to date along with the rest of your system.

You can also download the signed .rpm from the latest release. It installs the same files, but you have to download each new version yourself:

sudo dnf install ./proton-drive-linux-*.x86_64.rpm

To build an RPM from your own checkout, see Build an RPM locally.

Arch Linux (AUR)

Three packages cover the usual choices. They conflict with each other, so install one:

Package	Contents
proton-drive-for-linux	Latest release, built from source
proton-drive-for-linux-bin	Latest release, prebuilt binaries
proton-drive-for-linux-git	The newest code on main, built from git

paru -S proton-drive-for-linux     # or yay, or any other AUR helper

The recipes are in packaging/aur/.

Debian and Ubuntu (24.04 or newer)

Download the .deb from the latest release and install it:

sudo apt install ./proton-drive-linux_*_amd64.deb

There is no APT repository yet, so repeat this for each new release. Turn on Check for updates in Preferences to be told when one is out.

NixOS (flake)

The repository is a flake. Add it as an input and enable the module. The module installs the package, starts the user service in every graphical session, and turns on the fusermount3 wrapper and GNOME Keyring for you:

{
  inputs.proton-drive-linux.url = "github:narrrl/proton-drive-linux";

  outputs = { nixpkgs, proton-drive-linux, ... }: {
    nixosConfigurations.<host> = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      modules = [
        proton-drive-linux.nixosModules.default
        { services.proton-drive-linux.enable = true; }
      ];
    };
  };
}

That URL follows main. To stay on releases, pin the input to a release tag instead, and change the tag to update:

inputs.proton-drive-linux.url = "github:narrrl/proton-drive-linux/v3.5.0";

Each release tag is built with Nix before the release is published.

Binary cache

CI uploads every build of main and of each release tag to a Cachix binary cache, so Nix can download the client instead of compiling it. A system build does not read a flake input's cache settings, so add the cache to your NixOS configuration once:

nix.settings = {
  substituters = [ "https://proton-drive-linux.cachix.org" ];
  trusted-public-keys = [
    "proton-drive-linux.cachix.org-1:w1+3pXVXyTlqkFGn3dWpUhlaJtyGhSm3X0mFwfa++AA="
  ];
};

The cache holds the build against the nixpkgs this flake locks. Setting inputs.proton-drive-linux.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs" builds against yours instead, which the cache does not have, so Nix compiles it. nix run and nix shell ask whether to use the cache the first time; answer yes, or run cachix use proton-drive-linux.

To try it without changing your system, run it straight from the flake:

nix run github:narrrl/proton-drive-linux#proton-drive-linux -- --help   # the CLI
nix shell github:narrrl/proton-drive-linux -c pdfs-app                   # the desktop app

The mount needs the setuid fusermount3 from NixOS (programs.fuse.enable, on by default with the module) and a Secret Service such as GNOME Keyring or KWallet. To leave out ffmpeg, and with it video thumbnails, override the package with withFfmpeg = false. The recipe is in packaging/nix/.

Other distributions

Unpack the .tar.gz from the latest release into a directory on your PATH, then install the service as shown in Using a binary outside /usr/bin. The binaries need GTK 4.12, libadwaita 1.5, WebKitGTK 6.0 and FUSE 3; see Requirements.

Optional extras

The packages pull in what the client needs. These add features if you install them:

Package	Adds
exiftool (perl-image-exiftool, libimage-exiftool-perl)	Thumbnails for camera RAW files
ffmpeg	Video thumbnails
iso-codes	Country names in your language on the Places map
xdg-utils	"Open Folder" in the tray, and the default file opener
fzf and a terminal (foot, kitty, alacritty, …)	pdfs-prompt --fzf, the search-as-you-type launcher
AppIndicator extension (GNOME only)	The tray icon. KDE Plasma and most other desktops show it without help

First run

With the desktop app

1. Open Proton Drive from your applications menu, or run pdfs-app.
2. Sign in with your Proton email and password, and your two-factor code if the account has one. If Proton asks for a CAPTCHA (common on a VPN or a new network), the app shows the challenge in a window and continues after you solve it.
3. The app enables and starts proton-drive.service. Your Drive appears at ~/ProtonDrive.

The service belongs to your desktop session. It starts after you log in and stops when you log out. To put the folder somewhere else, change Preferences → General → Location.

Getting started explains what to do next.

With the command line

pdfs login stores the session but does not enable the service, so a setup that runs the service another way stays untouched. Enable it yourself:

pdfs login                                        # email, password, 2FA code
systemctl --user enable --now proton-drive.service
pdfs status                                       # account, mount and queue state

pdfs login prints the address of the CAPTCHA page if Proton asks for one: open it in your browser, solve it, then press Enter.

Updating

Installed from	Update with
COPR (Fedora)	sudo dnf upgrade
AUR	paru -Syu, or your AUR helper's equivalent
Nix flake	nix flake update proton-drive-linux, or change the pinned tag, then rebuild
.deb, release .rpm, .tar.gz	Download the new release and install it over the old one

The service switches to the new version the next time it starts. To switch at once:

systemctl --user restart proton-drive.service

With the .deb, the release .rpm or the .tar.gz, nothing tells you about a new release. Turn on Preferences → General → Check for updates: the app asks GitHub once a day and shows a banner over the sidebar when a newer version is out. The app never installs updates itself. Packages that a package manager updates do not offer the setting. A package marks itself that way by installing the empty file share/proton-drive-linux/managed-updates under the prefix of its bin/ directory, for example /usr/share/proton-drive-linux/managed-updates.

Coming from 2.8.0 or older, re-enable the service once. Those releases started it before the desktop session was ready, and on KDE that crashes ksecretd at every login. Signing in again or toggling Start on login does this as well:

systemctl --user reenable proton-drive.service

Database upgrades run by themselves and only move forward. A newer release's database does not open in an older release, so going back to an older version means clearing the local database (see Troubleshooting).

Uninstalling

Warning

Check that nothing is waiting to upload before you remove anything. pdfs sync queue must be empty. Changes that have not reached Proton Drive exist only on this computer.

1. Stop the service and sign out:

   pdfs sync queue                                   # must list nothing
   systemctl --user disable --now proton-drive.service
   pdfs logout                                       # removes the session from the keyring

2. Remove the package:

   Installed from	Remove with
   COPR (Fedora)	sudo dnf remove proton-drive-linux, then sudo dnf copr remove narl-rs/proton-drive-linux
   Release .rpm	sudo dnf remove proton-drive-linux
   .deb	sudo apt remove proton-drive-linux
   AUR	sudo pacman -R proton-drive-for-linux (or the -bin or -git package)
   NixOS	Remove the module and the flake input, then rebuild

   Removing the package also stops the service of every logged-in user, in case step 1 was skipped.

3. If you want no trace left, remove the local data:

   rm -rf ~/.config/proton-drive-linux ~/.local/state/proton-drive-linux ~/.cache/proton-drive-linux

4. Sign the device out in your Proton account settings. If you no longer want this computer's backups, remove it from Computers in the Proton Drive web app.

Caution

Do not delete ~/ProtonDrive while it is mounted. It is your Proton Drive, not a copy: every file deleted there is moved to the Proton Drive trash. Once the service is stopped, the folder is empty, and removing it is safe.

Headless and server use

The packaged service starts with a desktop session. On a machine without one, run the service directly or from your own systemd unit:

pdfs daemon                      # waits for a stored session, mounts, stays mounted
pdfs mount /srv/proton           # mounts once at a given path, blocks until unmounted

Both still need a Secret Service provider for the session. On a server, run gnome-keyring-daemon --unlock or KeePassXC's Secret Service integration inside the user's D-Bus session.

Build from source

Requirements

	Minimum
Architecture	Any that Rust and GTK support. Release packages are x86_64 only
Kernel	FUSE 3 (fuse3 package, /dev/fuse available to your user)
GTK / libadwaita	GTK 4.12, libadwaita 1.5 (1.8 or newer gets the newest widgets)
WebKitGTK	6.0, used only for the CAPTCHA page during sign-in
Secret Service	GNOME Keyring, KWallet, KeePassXC, or another provider of org.freedesktop.secrets
Rust	1.96

The session is stored only in the Secret Service. Without a running provider, sign-in succeeds but cannot be saved, and the service cannot start unattended.

Build dependencies

Debian / Ubuntu 24.04+

sudo apt-get install -y pkg-config gettext libfuse3-dev libgtk-4-dev libadwaita-1-dev \
  libwebkitgtk-6.0-dev libsecret-1-dev libdbus-1-dev

Fedora 44+

sudo dnf install -y cargo rust gettext pkgconf-pkg-config fuse3-devel gtk4-devel \
  libadwaita-devel webkitgtk6.0-devel libsecret-devel dbus-devel glib2-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S --needed rust gettext pkgconf fuse3 gtk4 libadwaita webkitgtk-6.0 libsecret dbus

If your distribution ships a Rust older than 1.96, install a newer one with rustup.

Compile

git clone https://github.com/narrrl/proton-drive-linux.git
cd proton-drive-linux
cargo build --release --locked
po/build.sh target/locale        # optional: compile the translations

The four programs are in target/release/: pdfs, pdfs-app, pdfs-tray and pdfs-prompt.

Build a package from the working tree

Arch Linux:

cd packaging && makepkg -fi

Fedora:

sudo dnf install -y rpm-build
rpmbuild -bb packaging/proton-drive-linux.spec \
  --define "git_dir $PWD" \
  --define "_rpmdir $PWD/packaging/out" \
  --define "_builddir $PWD/packaging/build" \
  --define "_sourcedir $PWD" \
  --define "_specdir $PWD/packaging" \
  --define "_srcrpmdir $PWD/packaging/out"
sudo dnf install packaging/out/x86_64/proton-drive-linux-*.rpm

Using a binary outside /usr/bin

The service unit starts /usr/bin/pdfs daemon. If you installed the programs somewhere else, for example ~/.local/bin, install the unit for your user and point it at your binary:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp packaging/proton-drive.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
sed -i "s|^ExecStart=.*|ExecStart=$HOME/.local/bin/pdfs daemon|" \
  ~/.config/systemd/user/proton-drive.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload

To start the tray at login, copy packaging/io.narl.proton-drive-linux-tray.desktop to ~/.config/autostart/. For the entry in your applications menu, copy packaging/io.narl.proton-drive-linux.desktop to ~/.local/share/applications/ and the icon packaging/io.narl.proton-drive-linux.svg to ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/.

What the packages install

Every package installs the same files:

Path	Purpose
/usr/bin/pdfs	Command-line client and background service
/usr/bin/pdfs-app	Desktop app
/usr/bin/pdfs-tray	Tray icon
/usr/bin/pdfs-prompt	Search launcher
/usr/lib/systemd/user/proton-drive.service	User service that keeps the drive mounted
/etc/xdg/autostart/io.narl.proton-drive-linux-tray.desktop	Starts the tray at login
/usr/share/locale/*/LC_MESSAGES/pdfs.mo	Translations